New e-system for returning Hajj pilgrims

RIYADH, 29 days
ago

Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has launched a new system, 'Return Initiative' to help overseas Hajj pilgrims complete all their departure procedures automatically from their residences before reaching the airports, said a report.

The new system is a qualitative and historic leap in the services for the pilgrims, according to the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.

About 30,000 Hajj pilgrims from abroad have already used the new electronic system in the pilot phase, it added.

The 'Return Initiative' has helped pilgrims departing for Indonesia, India, and Malaysia from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, remarked GACA President Abdul Hadi bin Ahmed Al Mansouri.

This service will be extended to all Hajj and Umrah pilgrims traveling through the Kingdom's airports in future, he added.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation, WHO, has congratulated Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Health for successfully hosting the hajj season without a single public health event or disease outbreak being reported, said the SPA report.

The WHO had deployed a team of experts to support the Saudi Ministry of Health to ensure public health preparedness measures and prevent any potential disease outbreaks, it added.